Ring projecting toy



Dec. 17, 1957 L. M. PRoFrrT RING PROJECTING TOY Filed April l5, 1955ATTORNEY 'Ciel 2,816,536 Ice Patented Dec. 17, 1957 RING PROJECTING TOYApplication April 15, 1955, Serial No. 501,503

Leslie M. Profitt, Middletown, hio

1 Claim. (Cl. 124-10) 'Ihis invention relates to a projectile type oftoy and more particularly to a ring projecting device which imparts aboomerang effect to the ring.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a rugged andreliable toy which may be operated by children as young as three years,without possibility of harm, and which nevertheless provides suicientinterest for older children as well as adults.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a toy which may befabricated of metal, plastic, wood or other structural materials andwhich may operate upon rings, annuli or discs of light materials toeject them by a simple manipulation of a leaf spring in a manner tocause the expulsion of the circular projectile in such a way that thelatter returns automatically to the point of discharge.

lt is a further object of the invention to provide a boomerang-type oftoy which may be produced economically of different materials such aswood, metal or plastic, and which may be adapted for use with targets toenhance the interest of the toy.

It is another object of the invention to provide for an adjustment ofthe force exerted by the leaf spring to adapt the toy for use indifferent spaces, depending upon the available distances in which thering bodies may be projected for automatic return to the approximatepoint of ejection.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a projectile forplastic rings or discs which is formed of few parts, which are so simplein arrangement and construction that they cannot get out of order, andin which the fingers or hand of a child or adult cannot be caught orharmed in any way.

The invention proceeds upon the principle of providing a housing forsupporting an annulus, ring or disc body in position for the engagementtherewith of a leaf spring, which upon actuation results in a propulsionof the circular body from the housing in a forward direction with areverse spin, so that upon the exhaustion of the forward propellingforce, the ring body returns to the starting point. The toy is adaptedto be used on a substantially horizontal supporting plane, so that whenthe ring is disposed in a vertical plane and the same is ejected fromthe housing, it rolls back automatically towards the housing inconsequence of the reverse spin imparted to the ring simultaneously withthe forward ejecting force.

The use of a leaf spring, preferably of sheet metal, in lieu of flexiblerubber bands of the type used heretofore in toys of this type, resultsin a rugged toy of long life which may be operated by young children whowould be too young to operate toys with rubber bands and similar springdevices.

The toy is also adapted for the expulsion of light discs into space,which discs are capable of returning to the point of use similarly toconventional boomerangs.

Other objects and purposes will appear from the detailed description ofthe invention following hereinafter, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing, wherein- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of apreferred embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the toy with certain parts inelevation, illustrating the operation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view along line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of Fig. 1, showingthe character of the engagement between the leaf spring and the ringprojectile.

In the drawing is shown a base B which may be fabricated of metal, andwhich is provided with slots therein to receive the prongs 7 of anupstanding frame extending upwardly from the base B. The upstandingframe is of U-shaped configuration, consisting of the side walls 1 and 2which extend from the end wall 6 and which terminate in ends 3 and 4,respectively, of reduced height relative to the end walls 1 and 2. Theend walls 3 and 4 define a vertical passageway 5, which is narrower thanthe spacing between the walls 1 and 2 adjacent to the base 6 inconsequence of the angular offsets 22. The passage 5 is wide enough toaccommodate a light ring R in upstanding position for dischargetherefrom through the opening at the front thereof. The prongs 7, whichmay be provided at different points along the bottom of the side walls1, 2, 3 and 4, and end wall 6, are bent laterally after they are passedthrough the slots in the base B, in order to interconnect the base Bwith the upstanding frame. Any other mode of interconnection of theparts, such as welding, soldering or fusing may be employed.

A lever 15, which may be of channeled metal or solid material, ispivotally mounted between the side walls 1 and 2 at the wider portionthereof by means of a rivet or bolt 16 passing through a pair of alignedopenings 8 in the side walls 1 and 2. A handle 20, which may bespherical as shown, is aflixed to the upper end of the lever. A leafspring 17 may be aflixed to the lower end of pivoted lever 15 by meansof rivet 19 or by any other mode of aflixation, and extends forwardlytherefrom to dispose the free end of the spring 18 on the top of aprojectile ring R, which is preferably formed of light plastic material,and which is disposed vertically in the passage 5 between theextremities 3 and 4 of the side walls. A stop for fixing the position ofthe ring is provided by means of a bolt 9 having a freely revolublesleeve 10 extending between the side Walls 1 and 2. With the position ofthe ring lxed at all times against the sleeve or roller 10, adjustmentof the positioning of the terminal end 18 of the spring against the ringR may be made by varying the pivot point of the lever 15. Thus, theshifting of the pivot bolt 16 to the forward set of openings 8a advancesthe point 18 forwardly of the ring, while the shifting of the pivot tothe rearwardly disposed set of holes 8b disposes the free end 18rearwardly of the ring.

The propulsion of the ring is executed by rotating the lever 15 in acounterclockwise direction, as indicated by the arrow, so that as thespring 17 is pushed downwardly it flexes and exerts a force against thering R in the direction indicated by the arrow A. In view of the factthat the spring acts along a chord of the ring, the ring is projectedforwardly from the open passageway 5 with a reverse spin, as indicatedin dotted lines in Fig. 2, so that the ring mayv travel for a distanceof approximately twenty feet in consequence of the forward propulsionmovement, and thereafter it will return to the point of starting as aresult of the spinning movement imparted to the ring. The larger chordagainst which the spring operates when the forward pivot holes 8a areutilized results in a greater force of propulsion as well as spinningwhich is exerted upon the ring, whereas the engagement of the springwith a smaller chord of the ring when the rearward holes 8b are usedresults in a propulsion 4when less room `is available.

The travel of the spring i7 is limited in the course of its actuatingmovement by the stop 10, and the same is retained between the side wallsof the -frarne in lposition for engagement with the ring with the -aidof Alugs 21. These lugs are bent vlaterally from the wal-ls il and 2 c-fthe frame and form -a stop vto limit Jthe movement .of the spr-ing 17 inthe return clockwise direction.

Preferably the free end 18 of the leaf spring is notched, as clearlyshown in Fig. A4, lto conform -to the -toroidal shapeof the ring-so thata more effective engagement between the ring vand the spring 4is.attained -in the course of its projection. lIf rings or Vhoops of`cylindrical outline are used, t-he free end of the leaf spring may Vbeprovided with a rough ti-p of abrasive or rubber to enhance thefrictiona-l resistance between the contacting surfaces. As stated-above,the `springis preferably formed of sheet steel, but any other Arigidsheet material possessing resilient eects may be used, for example, ofplastic or wood.

While the illustrated invention shows the projecting device formed of abase B -which may rest upon a table or lloor, the same principle lmay beapplied to a housing which may beheld in the hand and -which may beadapted to project ring .missiles of disc outline provided with coloredpatterns and vanes -which may be lprojected into space to produce novelvisual, audible and ight effects.

While I have described my invent-ion as embodied in a specific form andas operating in a specic manner for purpose of illustration, it shouldbe vunderstood that l do not limit my invention thereto, since variousmodications will suggest -themselves to 4those skilled in the artwithout departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which isset forth in the annexed claim.

I claim:

A ring projecting device comprising a base, a frame mounted on said basedening a narrow vertical passageway with an opening at .the frontthereof for supporting a light ring in vertical position, .a stop at.the rear of said passageway, the rear vportion of said frame having aplurality of pairs of aligned-openings displaced from each other, alever pivotally ,mounted selectively in one of said pairs of openingsand connected with a leaf spring having the free end `of the springengaging the periphery of said ring, and means for rotating said leverand spring to press the ring towards said stop until the llexure of thespring permits the ejection of the ring forwardly through said openingwith a reverse spin, said selective mounting of said lever adapted -to-vary the point of engagement of the free end of said leaf spring withthe periphery of the ring .and the consequent force of propulsion of thering from the projecting device.

References'Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS912,059 :Bartholomew .r.- Feb. 9, 1909 2,372,608 Shackleford Mar. 27,1945 2,432,570 Gorsuch Dec. 16, 1947 v 2,601,070 Teschel etal. June 17,1952

